Alternate Season 2
by protector91
Summary: Sequel to Alternate Season 1.  This season everyone has something to hide and those secrets could threaten to unbalance, or maybe destroy the lives of Clark and his friends.
1. Another Chance

**A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to the start of Alternate Season 2. Sorry for taking so long to get this sequel off the ground. The first chapter is short, but future chapters will be longer. You can count on that. Enjoy! I know I should be dragged off somewhere and watch my laptop get destroyed before my very eyes for starting another fic, but I honestly can't help it. Really, I can't. Writing is my weakness.**

Clark's eyes were barely open at all. Part of him wanted to give in and accept death. The other part refused to even consider such a thing and Clark tried with all his might to make his way back to the surface, but his injuries from fighting Rudy and the kryptonite Whitney tied around his neck weren't making things any easier for him.

Unbeknownst to Whitney Clark did have an expanded lung capacity, which allowed him to hold his breath for longer than most humans. Due to Rudy's powers, however, that time was cut down to size. Clark was unsure of how much time he had left before the lack of oxygen made him pass out.

* * *

><p>A groan left Tess' mouth; the back of her head stinging like Hell. What hit her? She put her hand on one of the desks and pulled herself up. She opened her mouth and almost took in a mouthful of smoke. She coughed violently and covered her mouth to keep out any more of the stuff. She walked over to the door and kicked it off its hinges figuring the door knob would be hot as a result of the fire. She entered the hallway, which was now smoking as well.<p>

"Clark! ?" She called out again hoping he would hear her, but received no answer. She pushed forward and bumped straight into Whitney.

"I thought I knocked you out," he said and swung at her face. Tess blocked it and restrained Whitney from behind.

"I don't know what's wrong with you, but this isn't the time for this," she said praying she wouldn't take in anymore smoke. "Have you seen Clark anywhere?" She asked keeping a firm hold on him.

"He's probably drowned by now," Whitney gave as his answer. Tess gasped and released Whitney; running as fast as she could to the gym. Whitney stumbled, but kept his footing.

"You'll never reach him in time!" He shouted after her and started to cough aggressively again. He continued to cough and felt extremely faint to the point where the room started to spin. He ended up sprawled across the floor out cold.

* * *

><p>That's it. Clark was unable to hold on for any longer. He started to sink back to the bottom of the pool. He never pictured himself going out like this; drowning in the pool of his High School gym. As everything became blurry for Clark again, he caught sight of something red in the water coming towards him. Whatever it was Clark was suddenly on his way back up the surface and then being pulled out of the pool.<p>

Something rough connected with his chest and then he spit out a lot of water and coughed for about 15 seconds. He finally recognized his rescuer as Tess. Even with a worried expression on her face Tess still look beautiful to Clark. Tess quickly undid the ropes that bound his hands and legs and pulled his head into her lap; lightly stroking his cheek.

The room was starting to fill up with smoke to, but not as bad as the rest of the building.

"Tess," Clark said weakly. "The necklace. You have to get it off me," he requested of her.

"Why?" Tess asked not understanding.

"Please, Tess," he begged of her. "It makes me sick," he revealed hoping she would save her questions for later. Tess moved her hands to the necklace then stopped and looked at Clark. Clark was going to ask her why when he felt her lips press against his.

At the same time she ripped the necklace off and tossed it someplace else while Clark lifted a hand and wrapped it around Tess' neck pulling her closer to him. Tess gave a small moan and ran her hands through Clark's wet hair; their tongues touching if only for a few seconds. The kiss was over in less than a minute, but Clark was left feeling even more breathless than before.

He locked eyes with Tess and the first thing he said was, "Why… why did you kiss me first?"

"Because I… I didn't think I'd have another chance to," she admitted. It was at that point Clark noticed that Tess was shivering badly.

_She did just dive into the ice cold water, _Clark thought. "I have to get you out of here," Clark said trying to push himself up.

"I've got you Clark," Tess said aiding him to his feet and supporting his weight. They started to head for the only exit, which was back in the hallway when two fire fighters rushed inside the pool area.

"Come on!" One of them yelled to the pair. The two of them aided Clark and Tess through the fire infested hallways, out of the burning school, and over to an ambulance.

"Clark! Tess! Are you guys alright! ?"Jimmy cried out seeing his two friends getting out of the school at last. They both nodded and Tess saw no trace of Lana or Chloe.

"Where are…?" She began to ask.

"Lana and Chloe. You aren't gonna believe this, but Lana was shot," Pete answered. He still couldn't believe it himself. It all happened so fast.

"What! ?" Tess shouted and started to cough again.

"It's a long story," Jimmy said getting into the ambulance along with Pete. "Chloe went with Lana's ambulance. We stayed to make sure you both got out. Chloe called and says Lana is ok for now and that the doctors are calling it a miracle."

Both Clark and Tess were shocked beyond all belief at how this night had ended. First the school catches fire, Rudy attacks and almost kills Clark, Whitney nearly finishes the job, and now they find out Lana's been shot. It was as if in addition to being a magnet for the weird and unexplained, Smallville also had a bad luck bull's eye painted on it.

The ambulance was about to start off for the hospital to check out Clark and Tess when Clark saw Whitney on a stretcher being loaded into another ambulance. Their stares locked with each other and though he was half conscious, Whitney's hand tightened into a ball.

_Kent? How can he be alive? No one can hold their breath for that long. Then again he's not like everyone else. He's a freak; plain and simple and if drowning him doesn't work I'll have to find some other way to get rid of him, _Whitney thought as the ambulance drove away.

* * *

><p>A truck pulled up to a secluded cabin in the middle of the woods. The driver exited his truck and went inside discarding his sniper rifle that he used on Lana. Taped on his wall was a group of pictures of several people taken off the Smallville High Torch website. The shooter took down Lana's picture and picked up a black marker. Van McNulty smiled and drew a black <strong>X <strong>through her picture.

_There's another one down,_he thought not aware of Lana's fate.

**To be continued… **

**A/N: Van McNulty was the guy that shot Clark with a Kryptonite bullet in Season 3's 'Extinction'. I was going to keep his identity a secret for a while longer, but I thought this would make a good cliffhanger ending for the chapter without putting anyone in mortal danger. That and if I kept his identity a secret it would be the fifth story I used that as a plot device and I just couldn't take that anymore. **

**I hope this chapter was ok. If not I'll gladly go back and change aspects of it. I had planned for Clark and Tess' kiss to last longer then I remembered they were in a building that was on fire.**

**If this chapter felt a little rushed rest assured that I will be taking my time with future updates to make sure they are the best they can be. I'll update this story in about a week once my finals are complete. See ya all soon!**

**P.S. Did Clark's dialogue with Tess at the pool remind you guys of anything? haha.**


	2. Irony Sucks

**A/N: Well since you all said please (people actually did ask me to please continue) I present the long and overdue (understatement much) update for Alternate Season 2. Sorry it isn't long, but I wanted to give you guys something.**

Margaret paces back and forth in front of Pierce's cell. Pierce just sits against the wall watching her.

"What are you still doing her Maggie? Don't you have that reported shooting to check out?" He asks with a yawn.

"Out of my jurisdiction, remember? Besides, I'm not leaving you out of my sight till you're safely locked away in Metropolis. And if you have anything to do with tonight's shooting…"

"Please. What could I possibly have done IN JAIL?" He groans at his rival.

"You'd be surprised at how far some people's influence can reach Pierce," she answers.

_You have no idea,_ Pierce gloats in his mind. She of course knows nothing about his 'assistant' still on the outside.

* * *

><p>Lana's heart beat was slow, but steady. She was still unconscious on the hospital bed. Her blood soaked spring formal dress lying across Chloe's lap. She had been sitting next to Lana for who knows how long. She kept rubbing her hands over and over again; Lana getting shot replaying in her mind. Chloe wasn't sure what shocked her more; the gun shot or how she somehow healed Lana.<p>

"Irony sucks," she mumbles. Her life's goal was to expose any and all meteor freaks…freaks.

_I can't call them that anymore; now that I'm one of them. Sure it's hypocritical, but I don't care. All this time that I try to uncover the identity of the mysterious meteor fr-infected student and I turn out to be one…again, irony freaking sucks! I don't even know how I became infected. I wasn't even born in this town, _Chloe angrily thinks.

The door to Lana's room flies open making Chloe jump out of her chair. Clark, Tess, Jimmy, and Pete step inside the room and Chloe tosses aside Lana's dress. She runs forward and almost tackles Clark and Tess down in a hug.

"Where were you two! ? I thought you might've died! ?" Chloe yelled at them, but also sounding relieved.

"And why are you dressed differently?" She adds while also noticing how Clark looks slightly tired. She hadn't seen anything like that since the time Eric briefly had super powers.

"Rudy. He set the fire and nearly drowned me. Tess dived into the pool and managed to save me," Clark partially lied. Tess gave Clark a knowing look, but didn't call him out on Whitney being the one that tried to drown him.

"Rudy?" Pete asks in disbelief. "Why would he have any reason to burn down the school?"

"Having power can corrupt a person's judgement," Tess says cracking her knuckles.

"Yeah. All the meteor freaks are a prime example of that," Jimmy says. Chloe looks away from Jimmy at his words. She looks towards Lana, however, to avoid seeming suspicious.

"How did he even get the way he is? It can't be meteor exposure can it?" Pete asks.

"Why not?" Jimmy questions him.

"Did you see how disfigured he was when he first ran out of the hospital? I've seen the meteors do a lot of bad things to people, but nothing like that before," Pete answers him.

"It might've had something to do with Luthorcorp. Back during the incident with Eric, I heard that there had been an explosion there," Tess says.

"What at Luthorcorp. could've caused such a transformation?" Chloe asks.

"There are a lot of secrets stored in that building that Lionel doesn't want people to know about. I doubt even Lex knows about the most secretive of projects conducted in that building," Tess says sitting down.

"We can worry about how Rudy got this way later. How's Lana?" Clark asks turning in her direction. Chloe swallows thickly and opens her mouth to respond.

"She's stable for right now. The doctors can't explain it in the least. A few of them said that it's as if the bullet just suddenly stopped. It's gonna be touch and go and she's not out of the woods yet, but still, it's nothing short of a miracle," she finishes.

"It's a miracle no one died in that fire," Jimmy remarks.

"But nobody's safe till we find Rudy," Clark says and moves towards the door. Tess instinctively grabs his arm.

"You can't seriously be thinking of going after him. He nearly killed you."

"Nearly being the word Tess. He doesn't want to really kill anybody," Clark says.

"And how exactly do you know that C.K.?" Jimmy questions him.

"Because he told me," Clark states matter of fact like.

"It doesn't mean he won't hurt you," Chloe says.

"He was weak when I first saw him at my barn. He has to continually charge himself or else he'll be normal like us," Clark says.

_Well, except for me_… Clark silently adds in his mind not knowing that Tess and Chloe are thinking the exact same thing.

"Rudy is far from normal Clark. Even if you do catch him at a weakened state, good luck managing to restrain him," Jimmy says.

"I have a way," Tess speaks up. "After I got kidnapped during the Nicodemus incident, Lionel gave me a taser. It's back at the mansion if you think it will help."

"It might," Clark says and steps towards the exit.

"C.K.? You aren't going anywhere, unless you plan on walking to the Luther Mansion. Did you forget we all came here in an ambulance?" Jimmy reminds him making Clark freeze with his hand on the door.

_I forgot about that, _Clark berates himself knowing that he can't just rush off now.

"All we have to do is call Lex and he'll be here in no time. Problem solved," Tess says. Clark nods in agreement when the lights to the room suddenly shut off. Clark opens the door and quickly steps out into the hallways and runs into a nurse.

"What just happened?" He asked worriedly.

"We-we just lost power to the building," she stutters. The gang worriedly all looks back at the still critically injured Lana.

* * *

><p>Down in the basement, Rudy watches Clark using his stolen X-Ray vision.<p>

"Time to play the hero, Kent," he says then forms a twisted smile.

**A/N: So the quicker I finish this part of the story, the sooner I can get to the better things I have planned out for season 2. I actually have several events outlined, but the trouble is actually executing them. That's why I haven't updated among other things (loss of inspiration being another). Hope you liked this chapter and will bear with me till I get to the good parts.**


	3. Play The Hero

**A/N: I'm back at last everyone. I won't waste your time with this Author's Note. Enjoy!**

"What do you mean we just lost power! ? Hospitals don't just lose power for no reason!" Chloe frantically yells.

"I don't know! I'm just a nurse!" The nurse screams back just as frantic.

"Don't you have any back up power in this place! ?" Tess shouts.

"Y-yes. It s-should've come on, but it h-hasn't!" The nurse nervously stutters.

Clark swallows thickly. If they can't get the power back on then the patients can't be monitored or worse...

Clark starts walking out of Lana's hospital room without thinking.

"Where are you going Clark?" Tess asks.

"I have to do something," he answers.

"I knew you'd say that, but what can you do? The staff is probably already working on getting the power back up and running," Tess says trying to sound hopeful without much luck.

Clark does a quick X-ray of the building down to the basement level; he spots two members of the staff rushing inside what he guessed was the generator room when a familiar being grabs and restrains one of them.

_Rudy,_ Clark thinks worriedly. Rudy shoves the man aside and then drains the second staff member.

"How's Lana?" Clark asks. Tess walks over to Lana and looks over her.

"She seems to still have a pulse...Clark?...damn it," Tess curses when she doesn't seem him there. "Why does he always have to go and be the hero?"

"Because nobody else will," Chloe sighs. "You guys go and try to find him. I'll watch over Lana," Chloe offers.

* * *

><p>Clark super speeds into the basement and comes to a stop in front one of the staff members he saw with his x-ray vision. Clark bends down and checks for a pulse. Clark breathes a sigh of relief when he feels one.<p>

He then stands back up and starts to do an x-ray of the basement.

_Where are you Rudy?_ He thinks to himself when suddenly something slams into Clark and pins him up against the wall.

"Howdy Kent!" Rudy greets Clark and tries to grab his face. Clark quickly snatches his wrists before he can get a hand on him.

"Rudy. You need to turn the power back on! Innocent people could die," Clark says struggling to keep Rudy from him.

"Oh, I'll gladly restore power once you decide to cooperate," Rudy reveals.

Clark instead head butts Rudy as hard as he can and sends him across the basement. Clark looks for the main power switch, spots it, and runs for it. However, Rudy beats Clark to the switch and grabs his arm. He drains Clark and backhands him to the other end of the basement. Clark crashes into the wall and nearly makes a hole in it.

"Oh I never get tired of that," Rudy laughs. Clark stands to his feet. He and Rudy begin to circle one another.

"You know, I've heard quite a bit about the abilities of the meteor infected, but you...you're in a class all by yourself. I should've known something was up since the day of the mini-earthquake during Homecoming. That was you wasn't it?"

Clark doesn't respond to Rudy. He feels feint. He'd barely started to heal from being drowned, but he's practically right back where he started now.

"I thought I heard you that night, but I was a tad preoccupied by this strange object I found," Rudy continues.

"Strange object...the disk," Clark whispers to himself.

"What did you say, Kent?" Rudy asks. Clark takes a deep breathe and sprints at Rudy. He collides with him and they crash into the wall; Clark holding Rudy up by his shirt collar.

"The object. Where is it?" Clark asks.

"Like I'm gonna tell you," Rudy says defiantly and makes a grab for Clark.

Clark lets go of Rudy, ducks under Rudy's arms, and punches him in the left side of his waist knocking him across the floor. Clark runs for the switch again, but Rudy is suddenly on him sending them both sliding across the floor. Rudy drags Clark up to his feet and pushes them both towards the wall. This time they crash straight through it into another section of the basement.

They fall once more and Rudy punches Clark in the center of his face twice. Clark kicks Rudy off of him and gets back to his feet, but Rudy grabs his face. Clark struggles to pull his hands off and Rudy's laughs gleefully at the power he feels when suddenly images start to fill his mind.

* * *

><p><em>Rudy sees a strange interior. It looks like a ship. An image appears on one of the walls. It looks like a red sun. The images change to that of an S. An S that slowly starts to change into another shape.<em>

* * *

><p>Clark grits he teeth and wrenches Rudy's hands off him before he can see anything else. Clark punches Rudy in the face, but he only stumbles and chuckles.<p>

"Wow that sort of stung. Looks like you're almost out of juice." He rushes Clark, who dives out of the way and speeds off.

"Hiding won't save you Kent. Just accept that there isn't anything that can slow me down now."

_Slow down. That's it!_ Clark thinks just as he felt someone tap his shoulder. Clark turns and Rudy's fist connects with his face. Clark doesn't even feel himself hit the floor.

"Alright Kent, let's just see what other secrets you have locked up in your head," Rudy says and places his hand on Clark's forehead.

"Clark!" Tess' voices breaks Rudy's concentration and he releases Clark before he can start to absorb more memories. He speeds off as Tess comes into view.

"Oh my God, Clark!" Tess shouts and runs over to his side. She holds his bloody face and then shakes him. "Clark?" He doesn't move and Tess shakes him again.

"Tess? What are you doing here?" Clark asks.

"Rescuing you, apparently," she says while helping Clark up.

"How did you know where I was?" He asks.

"Not that hard to figure out," she answers trying to get him to the exit.

Rudy watches them both in the cover of the dark and smiles.

"Well hello Project Mercer." He dashes at them and shoves Clark away from Tess and out of sight. Tess tries to punch Rudy, but he stops her and holds her up against a wall.

"You know, I was hired to only go after Kent, but I'm sure my employer would love to know the secrets you hold as well," Rudy boasts and goes for Tess' head. She punches Rudy in the face and he drops her, allowing her to drop kick him.

"Clark!? Clark where are you!?" She calls out but can't see him. Rudy stands back up and restrains Tess.

"Kent!? Kent, I know you're here. You'd never leave an innocent person behind!" There's no response to Rudy's claim.

"I'm taking her with me Kent! You want her then come and get her!" Tess tries to break away and Rudy absorbs some of her strength to keep her in his grasp. He pulls her to the main power switch and turns it back on.

"What are you doing?" Tess asks; dizzy from Rudy's power drain.

"All I wanted was Kent's attention," he answers while forcing Tess up the stairs. "Not interested in killing anybody." Tess struggles again and Rudy drains her further until she passes out.

* * *

><p>Jimmy runs down another hallway and almost runs into Pete as he comes up another.<p>

"You haven't found him?" Pete asks.

"No. Where do you think C.K. could be?" Jimmy asks as they walk down another hall.

"I don't know. I've been to every non-restricted section of the hospital I could find," he answers. They try another hall, but Jimmy stops.

"What is it?" Pete asks.

"Look," Jimmy says and points into a hospital room. One of the staff members is knocked out.

"When we got here and were walking to Lana's room, I thought I saw Whitney in here," Jimmy explains.

"You think Rudy-," Pete's question is interrupted by the sound of a door being knocked off its hinges and someone screaming.

The two of them sprint toward the noise when gun shots go off. The two of them round a corner and spot Rudy throw an unconscious doctor at a security guard knocking the man out. They rush him from behind, but Rudy turns around, takes the boys by the neck, and shoves them a good few feet away from him.

* * *

><p>Clark speeds into the Smallville High pool area and comes to an exhausted stop.<p>

_Come on, Clark. Keep it together_, he thinks then sinks to his knees.

_This has to work. _He lifts up his head and spots something glowing a short distance from him.

* * *

><p>Rudy shoves Tess into Lana's hospital room. Chloe instinctively runs in front of Lana's bed with her arms outstretched.<p>

"Don't insult me, Sullivan," Rudy chastises then turns around and seizes a guard trying to sneak up on him by the neck.

He chucks him to the other end of the hallway, then feels bullets bouncing off his back. An annoyed Rudy walks up to the guard and taps his forehead knocking him out.

Jimmy suddenly jumps onto his back, but Rudy wrenches him off and throws him down the hall before turning and hitting Pete in his wrist as he tries to hit him. Rudy laughs and shoves Pete into the wall taking him out.

_Wonder what's taking Kent so long,_ Rudy thinks then looks back into Lana's room. Chloe hasn't budged an inch.

_Why not,_ Rudy thinks, enters Lana's room, and grabs Chloe.

A light, brighter than the one Rudy's emits when absorbing energy, emits from Chloe. Rudy's eyes widen in surprise and he shoves Chloe away from him into the side of Lana's bed. Chloe feels exhausted and sinks to the floor. She looks at her hands and shutters at how half of the color appears drained from them.

Likewise Rudy also appears somewhat drained, but this only lasts a few seconds. Chloe stands up as does he and refuses to move from in front of Lana.

"Rudy." Rudy stops and smiles for what feels like the twentieth time that night.

"Was wondering if you'd ever come back, Kent. Fair amount of damage has been done in your absence though," Rudy says as he faces a heavily panting Clark.

"I'm giving you one last chance to walk away," Clark says; hands behind his back opening a familiar lead box.

"Not happening." Rudy lunges at Clark and he pulls Lana's necklace from the box. He throws a punch with the necklace in his fist and Rudy's catches the punch. He immediately goes weak and Clark pushes him up against a wall.

"What have you done?" Rudy groans in pain. Clark quickly ties the necklace around Rudy's neck then lets him fall to the floor; Clark stumbling back to a safe distance.

"What on Earth is this?" Rudy asks as he tries and fails to stand then he stares at Clark. "Then again, this isn't from Earth isn't it." He then makes a grab for the necklace.

"Rudy, don't!" Clark warns, but Rudy's hand grasps the necklace to absorb its energy and a violent green glow emits from it.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Rudy yells as green burst of energy blasts from the necklace engulfing the entire hall.

Chloe throws herself over Lana as the glow overtakes them; disappearing as fast as it showed up. In the aftermath of the blast, Rudy lies on the floor with his eyes wide open; hand still clutched over Lana's necklace. Clark lies unmoving as well; arms spread out and eyes wide open along with the rest of the hall. Chloe lies limp over Lana's body; color drained from every inch of her skin. A shadow looms over the two girls as Lana's eyes start to stir and slowly open to a green blurry image of Whitney standing over her.

"Whitney?" Her vision starts to shift back to a normal color as he reaches down and strokes her face when Chloe suddenly gasps as the color comes back to her body and and she starts to stand.

Whitney backs off and rushes out the door bumping into Rudy's body by accident. He looks down at Rudy and spots the glow from Lana's necklace in his hand. He starts to reach down for it, but hears the hospital staff not caught in the blast starting to make their way into the hall. He leaves without the necklace.

Back in Lana's room, the world stops spinning for Chloe and the awoken Lana is the first thing to come back into focus.

_Did...did I heal her?_ Chloe wonders.

"Chl-Chloe?" A weary Lana asks.

"Help! I need some help in here!" Chloe yells racing into the hallway.


	4. Exposed

**The following day**

Clark stares out of his loft at the afternoon sun. He sighs at the warm feeling of the sun's light.

"Told you he'd be up here. He always is," Jonathan says ascending the stairs with Martha.

"I like looking at the sun, dad. It helps calm me down and makes it easier to think sometimes," Clark says taking a seat; today's newspaper clenched in his hands.

The front page shows a picture of Rudy being loaded into an ambulance to be transferred someplace else.

The headline reads:

**Freak exposed. How many more of them are out there?**

"I've put so many of my meteor infected classmates away and not so much as a blip was made on the news' radar and suddenly this happens. People are gonna be afraid soon and it's all because of me," Clark says.

"Why do you do this to yourself, Clark?" Martha asks.

"Do what?" Clark asks.

"She means, why do you always blame yourself for everything that goes wrong in this town," Jonathan answers.

"The only reason the meteor infected exist is because I came here and people have died as a result."

"Not every infected person became a killer. You remember the old woman that could see the future?"

"I do AND... she's dead because of her power," Clark nearly snaps, but manages to keep his voice in check. "Who knows how anyone with powers will be treated now that this story is out?"

"There's no way people could ever be afraid of you if that's what you are getting at. You know why?" Jonathan asks.

"Why?"

"Because you've always done the right thing, son. Practically everyone in this town knows what kind of person you are," Jonathan says.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I still have to worry about what happens if Rudy ever wakes up. He knows about my powers and his own ability is the most dangerous I've ever encountered. What if there are other meta humans like him out there that can hurt me?"

"Meta humans?" Martha repeats.

"That's what the newspaper called him. I guess Marvel Comics copy wrote the term mutant," Clark jokes and sighs again. "There's still the matter of Whitney. He's still infected by a small trace of the Nicodemus flower. Who knows what he might do wherever he is? And then there's the meteor rock burst that generated from Lana's necklace. It knocked me out, yet I felt fine the moment I woke up, and there's also what happened to Lana-,"

"Calm down before you give yourself a heart attack," Jonathan interrupts and Clark rolls his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"I do. It's just that Rudy's burst took out everyone in the blast radius. We all know what this stuff does to me. So why am I fine?"

"Let's just be glad that you are fine," Martha says.

"I guess so. I need to get some air...well more air than I've already gotten," he says and heads down the steps of his loft.

"You really think people would accept Clark if they knew the truth about him. You've always been the one to remind him to keep a low profile," Martha says once Clark has gone.

"I know, but on the other hand, if he did get exposed how could people not accept him? He has one of the biggest hearts we've ever seen."

"Second biggest," Martha corrects then pokes Jonathan's heart. Martha and Jonathan laugh and hug one another.

* * *

><p>Clark super speeds into an alley across the street from Smallville High. Seeing nobody present, he walks into the school's parking lot and stops a few feet from the entrance. Clark decides to do an x-ray of the school. He quickly scans the first floor and is about to check the second when approaching footsteps break his concentration.<p>

"Come to make sure that nobody got left behind?" Tess asks.

"What are you doing here?" Clark asks.

"Lex had some business to take care of in town so he dropped me off earlier. But really Clark, you don't always have to go out trying to be everyone's hero. Especially when it could be the death of you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw what Rudy did to you. Hell, I've been a victim myself to what he can do. You're lucky Rudy isn't a killer."

"Tess, I was just doing what anyone else would've done."

"I'd like to think that, Clark, but it's not true. Close to no one in this town has the guts to do what I've seen you do since I moved here. I've never been one to believe in heroes, but you've been rapidly changing my outlook on the matter."

Clark smiles then feels himself start to blush. He turns away from Tess towards the school.

"I'll tackle you if you take so much as one step towards that building to look for anyone else," Tess threatens.

"It's not that, Tess. I'm just taking it all in. The school getting half burned down...it's the kind of stuff you only see in T.V. shows you know?"

"How long do you think it'll take before the place reopens?" Tess asks.

"Hopefully not as long as it took Sunnydale High to get rebuilt," Clark jokes.

"Isn't that place still a smoldering wreck?" Tess questions him.

"Heard it's coming back for season 7 actually. Not sure why since the characters are all out of high school," Clark comments.

"You'll just have to keep watching to find out," Tess jokes and the two share a laugh.

"Look Tess...about what happened back at the pool...I can't explain what happened with the meteor rock Whitney tied around my neck." Clark says.

"I understand. You have your secrets and I have mine," Tess says while trying to keep the image of the dirty cops she killed out of her mind.

"Then there is the...other thing that happened at the pool,-" Clark starts to say.

"I'm sorry about that Clark...sort of," Tess cuts off. "It was just a spur of the moment sort of thing. We'd tried so many times and I just wanted to go for it before something else conveniently interrupted."

"It's almost like some force doesn't want us to be together...not that I'm saying I wouldn't," Clark awkwardly adds.

"Nothing has to happen immediately between us because of the kiss, Clark. Until the right time comes I'm alright just being friends." Clark stares at Tess and then just nods.

"Alright. I'll see you around then, Clark," Tess says.

She turns away from Clark. As she starts to walk off Clark's hand lightly grips her shoulder. Tess turns around to meet Clark's gaze. Not another second is wasted and their lips meet one another. The heat rises greatly between them both. Tess lets her hormones get the better of her and, using her strength, shoves Clark up against one of the school's walls.

Clark doesn't seem to register this and only grips Tess tighter while running a hand down her long red hair while both of Tess' hands goes up the back of Clark's shirt.

* * *

><p>Chloe sighs as she watches Clark and Tess kissing from the second floor window. She can feel small tears begin to well up, but she pushes them back. She plucks the last newspaper clipping off of the Wall of Weird and places it into her backpack with the rest. While the Wall was the only part of the Torch to not catch fire, she didn't want to chance anything being taken once the repairs to the school began.<p>

"Hi Chloe." Chloe jumps in surprise. "You know you shouldn't be here."

"Neither should you, Leslie."

Leslie Willis leans against the wall just outside the Torch with a friendly smile on her face.

"That's Leslie 'the Live Wire'," she corrects and walks over to Chloe.

"Duly noted. What are you doing here?"

"Just came here to see the extent of the damage before I go and talk about it over the radio waves. But you. You look like you could use a friend right now."

"That obvious?"

"Saw Kent and Mercer's PDA and figured you must've seen it given your vantage point...well it's not so much PDA since we're the only ones here, never mind."

"Who says Clark has anything to do with my mood?" Chloe asks.

"Don't insult me," Leslie laughs. "Look, Chloe. Kent's just another guy. Ok not really. In fact he's probably one of the better guys to attend this school."

"Not helping," Chloe cuts off.

"Sorry. But the last thing you need to do is wait for one guy. I'm pretty sure, no, I'm 100% sure that most guys would kill to be with you."

"Thanks, but I doubt that. Aside from a mysterious admirer, no one else seems interested in me," Chloe sighs.

"Well you wouldn't know since you've only had eyes for Clark," Leslie points out. Chloe shrugs and Leslie sighs.

"You know, why don't we continue this discussion someplace a bit more cheerful. We aren't supposed to be here anyway," Leslie suggests.

"Where did you have in mind?" Chloe asks.

"The Talon of course," Leslie says as she puts an arm on Chloe's shoulder. "First round of coffee's on me."

"You sound like my cousin right now," Chloe says.

"Must be one hell of a girl," Leslie says.

"You have no idea though you need to replace the coffee with beer. Not that I drink it," Chloe laughs as she puts her arm around Leslie's shoulder as they both walk for the exit. "Leslie, I think this is the beginning of-,"

"A beautiful friendship," Leslie finishes for her and both girls laugh.

* * *

><p><strong>Luthorcorp.<strong>

Rudy lies on a bed unmoving while scientists monitor him; skin color having transformed to an even darker shade of purple since the accident that gave him his powers.

"Do you have any idea if he'll wake up?" Lex asks one of the scientists.

"His body has mostly shut down, however, some of his cells seem to be slowly coming back to life. But I don't know how long it'll take before he completely revives. It could be weeks or even months. Maybe even..."

"Don't even think of saying 'years' unless you're prepared to start looking for another job Dr. Hamilton," Lex threatens.

"Yes sir. Of course Mr. Luthor," Emil Hamilton answers; wiping some sweat from his forehead while Lex observes Rudy.

"One question, Mr. Luthor," Emil says. Lex gives him a nod to proceed. "Why allow the newspapers to print this story after silencing the others?"

"Because doctor, people were bound to find out eventually. Though I couldn't have asked for a better public exposure if I had planned it myself. Still we'll have to make sure there weren't any side effects from whatever that green energy burst was that the staff claims Rudy generated."

"And what are we going to do with Rudy once he's woken up?" Emil asks.

"When he wakes up, make sure he's straightened out for next time," Lex orders.

**A/N: Hard to believe this was all part of the season premiere. Haha. Well I apologize for the long delay (understatement much). Hope you guys enjoyed this installment of the story. C ya!**


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